Navigation.



No. 555,510. PKTENTEDJUNE 4, 1907.

' ;P. L. T. HEROULTR NAVIGATION.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27,1905.

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No. 355,510. PATENTED JUNE 4, 1907.

P. L. T. HEROULT.

NAVIGATION.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27,1905.

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invrrn erm ne PAUL LOUIS TOUSSAINT HEROULT, OF LA PRAZ, FRANCE.

NAVlGATlQN.

Patented June 4., 1 907.

To 0.7. whom it many concern:

Be it known "that 1-, PAUL LOUIS TOUs SAINT HnnoUL'r, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing in La Praz, Savoie, France, haveiinvented certain newand useful Improvements in Navigation, of which the following is a specification. I

' In my application for patent No. 265,7 57, filed June 17, 1905, I have described a proc ess and apparatus for navigation which utilizes the resistance of water to rapid blows or impulses upon its surface, the Water acting substantially as a solid, and the impulses being of such force" and so distributed that the reaction will support a body of desired weight entirely above the surface of the water; so that the said body shall move forward with no more resistance than is expert enced in moving through the air.

In order to provide a large area bearing upon the surface of the water, it is proposed in said former application to utilize a wheel with pivoted blades striking the water in rapid succession, or a wheel of such large diameter as to provide a suiiicient bearing area.

According to the present invention, in place of the mechanism before proposedl utilize a belt the lower side of which runs upon the surface of the water and is of ample area, while the ends, that is to say, the or} tions extending around the driving whee s 'or pulhiiys, may be made of comparatively httlej e1 t. l he accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention. Figure 1 is a side elevation of the supporting device; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the belt; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of another style of belt; Fig. 4 is a plan of a portion of the belt shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a plan of the belt and driving pulleys; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the rear end thereof; Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrams illustrating in plan and side elevation respectively the arrangement of the driving mechanism.

The body of the boat carries the two shafts A and B, and suitable inechanism for rotating either or both said shafts, as will be understood. Driving ulleys or drums C and Dare carried by said shafts, and carry a belt E the lower side E of which provides a surface which bears upon the water and su ports the boat. naturally take an upward curve between the pulleys-O and D, and, the shape of this curve may be regulated by means of guide rollers F.

The side E of the belt'will The measure of the upward reaction of the water is the vertical com onentG of the normal pressure H exerted y the belt, and it is desirable to make this as great as possible by making the pressure H as nearly vertical as possible. Consequently 'the direction in which the successive points of the belt strike the Water at the point J, should be as nearly horizontal as possible. For this purpose when a single drum is employed; as described in my previous application, the drum is necessarily made very large, and is consequently expensive to construct and operate. It will be understood that in order to present a suificient surface to the water, the drum must touch the water not 0111 along the mathematical line of contact, ut over a substantial portion of its circumference. A belt, by providing between the two pulleys a considerable area avoids the necessity which exists with a sing e drumiiof the drums entering the water-to provide t e necessary bearing area.- Consequently with a belt there is substan tially no depression in the water, and the drums C and D may be made of quite small radius, sp that the entire apparatus is more compact than would be a single drum. It is likewise. more advantageous than the flying paddle wheels of my revious application for patent, as such padd e Wheels are diflicult to maintain well lubricated because of the strong, centrifugal force acting, and for other reasons.

.The re uired velocity and force or pressure may be most conveniently obtained by means of the gasolene ty e of engines commonly used in. automobi e boats, or by the still lighter engines designed for flying ma chines. Such engines wei h from 1 to 1% kilos per horse-power, and have found that 8. 70 pound boat may be made to skim the water in the manner described and at a rate of 30 miles per hour with a 4 horseower engine. "For example, referrin to lgs. 7 .and 8, four belts E may be provi ed arranged at opposite sides, two near the bow and two near thesternof the hull, and each belt having its driving shaft A in line with that on the opposite side of the hull and driven from a common'difierential gear S with the usual or anysuitable controlling devices (not shown); the differential gears being driven from any intermediate gearing. typified by the large gear T mounted directly on the crank shaft of the two-cylinder gasolene engine U.

In order to prevent the water from cling ing to the'belt on the upgoing side of the pulley l) and thus retarding its movement, it is preferably made with a number of apertures, such for example as K (Fig. 2), through which air may enter in the manner indicated by the arrows to break the suction and per mit the water to run off readily.

The belt may be of'a great variety of constructions in detail. A suitable construction is illustratedin Figs. 3 and l. A series of links L are connected in staggered positions npon pivots formed by means of steel cables ivi surrounded by rubber N. The rubber permits a certain amount of yielding, and

being in a position to receive only compres sive stresses, will last for a long time. The cables are well protected also by the rubber.

The spaces between adjacent links of the same line may serve the purpose of the spaces K. in Fig. 2. It will be advantageous, however, to close these openings over so much of the belt as is in the operating posi tion, that is, constituting the lower sideE. For this purpose a number of flaps O of leather or similar material, and the rear end of each overlapping the front end of the next,

may be attached to the lower portions of the links L. When the belt runs around the upgoing side oi the pulley D, the ends of the iiaps-G will be separated from each other so as to permit access of air to the water.

As the boat moves forward, the water has a backward movement relatively thereto which may be represented by the arrow P in l. The belt in order to have any propelling efiect upon the boat, must move backward with a velocity greater than the velocity l, The movement of the belt is represented by the arrow P. however, to propel the boat from the belt. Separate propelling means may be provided;

for example, paddles may be arranged on the 7 rear drum 1). These paddles are preferably provided with axial portions Q which perform the actual work of propulsion, and with shields 'R lying in planes transverse to the axis, and on the inner side ofthe paddles Q so as to prevent splashing of water upon the belt.

Thebelt is shown of elongated shape, but

Though I have described with great par-.

v tieularity of detail certain embodimentsof the invention, yet itis not to be understood that the invention is limited "to the specific embodiments disclosed;

Various modifications in detail and in the arrangement and combination of the parts, may be made by those skilledin the art, without de arture from the invention.

What I c aim is z- 1. Means for supporting a body above the:

It is not essential,

surface ofthe water, comprising a belt presenting a large area to the wateryandmeans for moving the belt over the water with velocity and force suflicient to cause the water to react as a solid suflicicntly to support the body. I

2. Means for supporting a body above the surface of the water, comprising a belt E, end

ulle *s (I and D-, uide ullevs F for re ulatv l l a P t e ing the position of the belt between the pulleys U and D, and means for moving the belt over the water with velocity and force suilicient to cause the water to react as a solid su'liiciently to support the body.

3. Means for supporting a body above the.

surface of the water, comprising a belt presenting'a large area to the water, and means for moving the belt over the water with velocity and. force sullicient to cause the water to react as a solid sufficiently to suppprt the body, said belt being provided with a number of apertures through which airmay enter to permit the Water to run. off readily at the upgoing-end of the belt.

4. Means for supporting a body above the surface of the water, comprising a belt pre senting a large area to the water, and means for moving the belt over the water withvelocity and force suflici'ent to cause the water to react as a solid sufficiently to support the bpdy, said belt comprising a series of links pivoted together in staggered positions.

, 5. Means for supporting a body above the surface of the water, comprising a beltpresenting a large areato the water, and means .for moving the belt over 'thewater with velocity and force suificientto cause the water to react as a solid su'lliciently to support the body, said. belt comprising a series of links pivoted together in staggered positions andmounted yieldingly upon the pivots.

6. Means for supporting a body above the surface of, the water, comprising aQbelt presenting a large area to the water, and means for moving the belt over the water with velocity and force sufiicient to cause the water to react as a solid sufliciently to. support the body, said belt comprising a series of cables M covered with rubber N and forming pivots,- and a series of links L arranged in staggered positions upon said pivots 7. Means for supporting a body above the surface of the Water,,comprising a belt presenting a large area .to the Water, and. means for moving the bel-t over the water with velocity and force sufficient to cause the water to react as a solid sufficiently to support the body, said belt being provided with a number of apertures for-permitting the water to run oif readily at the upgoing end of the belt, and means for closing said apertures over the lower side of the 'bel-tand opening them upon the upgoing end. T 8. Means for supporting a body above the surface of the water, comprising a belt ,pra

sentin a lar e area to the water 'and'm'eans," ried u on ulles and means for movi for moving t e belt over the Water With velocity and force sufficient to cause the water to react as a solid sufiiciently to support'the bod and additional means for propelling' the ody.

9. Means for supporting a body above'the surface of the water, comprising'a belt car- .ried' u on pulleys and means for moving the be t over 'the Water with velocity an force sufficient to cause the Water tov react as a solid sufliciently to support the-body, and means for propelling sai body comprising paddles carried by one of said pulleys.

10. Means for supporting a body above the surface ofthe Water, comprising a belt carthe belt over the water with velocity and orce .sufiicient to. cause the water to react as a solid 'sufliciently to support the body, and means for pro elling said body comprising paddles Q on t e end of one of said pulleys, and having shields R for reventing the splashing of thewater inward upon the belt.

In witness whereof,-I have hereunto si ned my name in the presence of two subscri ing witnesses.

, mun tomsrroussmuw HER ULTQ Witnesses: 1

DOMINGO A. USINA, THEODORE T. SNE L. I 

